Lyrics

[craigdbell]

Hi everybody, I'm new here and a GL fan since he broke onto the scene.

Anybody know why Peter Paul & Mary altered the lyrics in Early Morning Rain to "Stuck here on the grass, where the pavement never grows" from Gordon's original lyrics, "Stuck here on the grass, with a pain that ever grows"?
Elvis sang it to the PP&M lyrics also. Whats up with that?

Thanks, Craig

[johnfowles]

HI Craig firstly welcome to this merry band of disparate characters stick around and post often.
Your public profile here says nothing so perhaps you could tell us all a bit more about yourself starting with a general idea or hint on where you live
Funnily enough the"pavement" topic recently arose in another thread at:-
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread...light=pavement
brought up by the learned Valerie Magee
For myself I often wonder why the North Americans decided to change a UK "pavement"

picture on the BBC site caption:-
""Kerb stones from the old estate were incorporated in the redevelopment, as can be seen in the section of pavement here.

to a "sidewalk" then renaming the actual paved roadway as the American "pavement", entirely logical but I just wonder how many expatriot Brits have been mown down after being told to walk on the "pavement"
In fact this is a very versatile word viz a remarkable report in the Daily Telegraph at:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...-mostviewedbox
an article dated 31/10/2007 which was of course this last October headed
"Man who had sex with bike in court"
"He is not the first man to be convicted of a sexual offence involving an inanimate object, however.
Karl Watkins, an electrician, was jailed for having sex with pavements in Redditch, Worcs, in 1993"
Makes leaving on a jet plane seem quite innocious does it not??

[craigdbell]

Thanks for the reply John but the question is why the lyric change from the original Gordon Lightfoot composition to the Peter, Paul & Mary recording mentioning "the pavement" when Gordon never said anything about pavement. Did they misunderstand the words? I think not because recording artists always have the sheet music for the session.

I cant figure out hoe to profile myself, can you assist?

Thanx, Craig

[vlmagee]

Actually, Craig, Gord's first recording of the song (on Lightfoot!) had "where the cold wind blows". The Gord's Gold version has the lyrics you quoted ("pain"), and that's how Gord sings it today. But he sang the "pavement" version in concert during the 60s, so he has sung it all 3 ways!

I happen to think the pavement version was the result of somebody having fun; whether it was Peter, or Gord who sang it that way first I don't know, and they may not remember.

Gord has made little changes in lyrics in many songs over the years; I think that many songwriters do that.

[craigdbell]

Thanks, and you are so right, I recall his "where the cold wind blows" version. Great job.

[banjobench12]

One change he did once in a while in the late 70s and early 80s was a joke from one of the guys in the band that Gord clearly liked:

"All the lovely ladies in refineries tonight"

and later in the same song:

"I wish I could relieve you of your change"

[timetraveler]

I hadn't even been aware that Peter, Paul, and Mary had ever done a version of the song. I knew about Elvis' version, but I didn't like it much. thank goodness that I got a chance to hear Gordon's. I like it best of them all.

[jj]

really can't comment much...i'm terrible with names and lyrics...the odd time that i mumble a GL tune, it unintentionally gets an entirely new set of lyrics

JF, i don't find the Watkins pavement affair that odd...just last summer another chap and I laid some flagstone together...i still have a sore back from that experience

[Jesse Joe]

Originally Posted by timetraveler

I hadn't even been aware that Peter, Paul, and Mary had ever done a version of the song. I knew about Elvis' version, but I didn't like it much. thank goodness that I got a chance to hear Gordon's. I like it best of them all.

Have a listen timetraveler, now that's what I call really good music.

YouTube - Early Morning Rain - Peter, Paul and...

[johnfowles]

Originally Posted by craigdbell

I cant figure out hoe to profile myself, can you assist?

Thanx, Craig

dead simple young man. just be a bit more daring, adventurous and inquisative!! Very simply find at the top left a link saying User CP which actually means Control Panel. go there and you will find a plethora of choice choices like edit profile edit signature etc.

"Sir" John Fowles Bt
(not a full beknighted "Sir" just a humble Baronet you understand)
My Gordon Lightfoot page will become the hub of a long planned webring starting at http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot

[JohnStinson]

If anyone is still on this thread...

Didn't GL say at one time that he changed the original lyric from "wind blows" to "pain that ever grows" Because that what Elvis told him was better. GL liked it and sang it that way from then on.

??

No idea on the PPM version.."pavement..grows"...thats just bad.

(Charlene...if you're listening...snowing hard in the GTA..in Aurora its a nasty one..yes we don't want to be here..well unless you ski)

John

[charlene]

omigosh John - we're getting hit hard too in Durham Region/Whitby..used to ski but not any longer..

I have heard Gord say Elvis changed CAN to MIGHT in Early Morning Rain..

This old airport's got me down
It's no earthly good to me
'Cause I'm stuck here on the ground
As cold and drunk as I MIGHT be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain

[paddletothesea]

Originally Posted by timetraveler

I hadn't even been aware that Peter, Paul, and Mary had ever done a version of the song. I knew about Elvis' version, but I didn't like it much. thank goodness that I got a chance to hear Gordon's. I like it best of them all.

I beleive it was PPM who made Lightfoot his first hit with that song, long before Ian and Sylvia. Are you sure thats what PPM sing? My old album is too packed away and the turntable is broken.
n

Another lyric change from the original, published lyrics is in the 3rd verse: "silver bird" was changed to "silver wing". I don't know who, when and why this (minor and probably insignificant) change occurred.

My guess is that "wing" is more fluent to sing than "bird". And it works well because the "wing" points to a direction, a portion of the plane (or "bird") -a glimpse to be had while it is moving away from sight.

For a vocalist, these hard consonants require more from one's vocal chords and/or an additional breath. Often, any opportunity to change lyrics to make something easier to sing is...well just easier and nicer. Some words just come out awkward when they are sung and especially how they sound in a phrase.

One song I wrote has the word, "shedding"...which I refuse to change for lack of a better word. If someone came up with a better word to sing in my song...it would be most welcome. Every time I sing it, it ends up sounding like "shitting".